Little Boxes All The Same

Josh is acting on the theory that the more times he pushes the button the more millions he gets. He assumes additional strangers are dropping dead, but you gotta’ break a few eggs to make a money-omelet.

Watch the trailer for The Box and tell me the movie wouldn’t start and end exactly like this. Based on what I’ve seen The Box is a stupid name for this movie. It should be called The Button, or The Button in the Box, or HOLY SHIT WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT DUDE’S FACE WAS IT EATEN BY A MONGOOSE?!

I hope this movie features my favorite button-related dialog of all time:

How can he possibly resist the maddening urge to eradicate history at the mere push of a single button? The beautiful, shiny button? The jolly, candy-like button? Will he hold out, folks? Can he hold out?

PODCAST UPDATE:

We are currently in the planning stages of resurrecting The HE Podcast. Scheduling was always the problem and it still is. Everyone is too busy. To that end we are working on having one permanent studio (Eli’s house) with all the fancy gear we already own, and one portable studio that can be thrown together at a moment’s notice and used and relatively any location. That will require some new equipment. So while I am trying to sell every computer I own in order to purchase a laptop that can handle the Podcast’s processor and RAM intensive requirements, I have also posted an AMAZON WISH LIST with a few of the items that would make the mobile studio a reality. Namely the two Blue Snowball Mics (which are half price right now) and the PreSonus Headphone Amp. Most of these things are high dollar items, and I’m not saying the Podcast won’t return without them. It’s just part of the overall plan to have this mobile recording capability.

MEDICAL UPDATE:

Your generous DONATIONS have completely paid off my first medical bill! 1000 thanks to everyone that donated or sent an email/twitter/etc wishing me a swift recovery. The 2nd bill just came in the mail (from the 12 hour hospital stay) and it’s $1800. I am probably going to do a limited print or some such to raise money for this. If you are interested, stay tuned.

I am also considering offering certain comics as larger prints in the store. Maybe 11X14 instead of 8.5X11. The Calvin and Hobbes/Wash/Firefly comic comes to mind.

CON/APPEARANCE UPDATE:

Come see me in Austin, TX this weekend. You have 3 chances! [read more]
I am confirmed for Staple! (Austin, TX) and Emerald City Comic-Con (Seattle, WA) in March and I’m lining up new cons left and right. I might also be at San Diego Comic-Con 2010 as well. I’ll let you know if that’s going to happen or not.

Sympathy For The Symbiote

Marvel hired the guy that wrote Seabiscuit to script the Venom movie? Sounds like a shitbiscuit. Hey-ooo!

I started reading Amazing Spider-Man in the mid-90’s and Venom was front and center for most of that time. One thing that sticks out in my head-parts is him constantly threatening to eat someone’s brains. Even the “talking” action figure that came out when I was in 5th grade said “We want to eat your brains!” He didn’t actually talk, but you could pull this strip of red tape through his enormous backpack to make him repeat garbled phrases. It actually sounded more like “WIWACHHHNNTOEEEEEUHHHBRACHCHCHCH!” Anyway, the point is how are they going to turn brain eating alien symbiote into a hero?

I read that Marvel did this in the 2000’s with a few Venom solo titles. I also know that there is little evidence that he actually ATE any brains. According this this CBR forum thread, Venom talked a big brain-eat game but never got around to closing the deal. At one point the symbiote (not Eddie/Venom) was feeding off human brain juice, but it turns out (I shit you not) that the same chemical was found in chocolate so Eddie Brock just kept some Hershey’s bars around to quench his better half’s brain thirst. This little tidbit might make you rethink your zombie survival plan.

I wonder if there was ever a “What if?” type comic where Peter Parker chose to bond with the symbiote permanently. That would have been cool. Speaking of cool, this movie will be the opposite of that. I can feel it in my Spider-sense, which is the sense that warns me when Spider-Man related movies with suck with the proportionate speed and strength of a spider that sucks.

NEW THINGS OF INTERST!!!

Come see me this weekend if you are in or arround Austin, TX. I will have 3 separate appearances and would like to schedule a reader meetup lunch/coffee/whatever for Saturday afternoon (10/24). More info HERE.

I have added 2 new appearances in November. I will be at the West TX Comic-Con in Lubbock on 11/7/09 and the Dallas Webcomics Expo the following weekend (11/14).

I have also confirmed registration for Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle, March 13-14.

BOOK NEWS:

The service I use for my store seems to have misreported the number of Ultimate Fancy Editions of the book that were sold. Instead of 150 it looks like only 147 were ordered. I’ve spent the last few days frantically checking and rechecking Paypal logs and everything seems to point to my store just reporting the wrong number for no reason.
Bad news: books havent shipped yet because I’m terrified there are missing orders out there somewhere.
Good news: There may be 2-3 more UFE’s for sale soon. I will post on Twitter and the first two to respond will get first dibs. FOLLOW ME to get in on that action.
Other Bad news: When it’s all said and done, someone somewhere may not get an UFE they think the ordered, either because the paypal transaction never went through or some random eff up of the internet. If this turns out to be you I will find a way to make it up to you.

A 21 Face-Rubber Band Salute

You actually have to pull the face-rubber bands while they’re on your face to properly (and respectfully) launch them.

A lot of you are too young to remember Captain Lou Albano, but to us children of the late 70’s and early 80’s he was a pop-culture fixture. The 1980’s stood in such stark contrast to the 2000’s in that a big, fat, hairy, sweaty dude with rubber bands stuck to his face could be a pop icon. It’s not like Captain Lou has constantly been on my mind for the last 25 years, but his recent passing unlocked a flood of memories of being 8 years old and him being EVERYWHERE. He was freakin’ MARIO for Toad’s sake. The Super Mario Super Show seemed less like a scripted children’s show and more like a late night public access affair (but with a MUCH lower budget). Captain Lou portrayed what seemed to be a pre or post mushroom kingdom Mario that lived and worked as a plumber in a big city (presumably New York) with his brother-in-overalls Luigi. I lean towards “pre “because he wasn’t constantly waking from night terrors shivering and screaming about carnivorous fungi and flame belching, man-sized lizard people. In between Mario’s Earthbound hijinks, they would show Super Mario Bros. cartoons that seemed to be set in the universe of Super Mario Bros. 2. It was never clear how the cartoons and the live-action show were supposed to be related but 8 year olds typically don’t ask those sort of questions. We just watched the show, ate our Ninja Turtles cereal and occasionally did “The Mario” for hours on end.

In remembering how Captain Lou affected my childhood, I would be remiss to leave out Hulk Hogan’s Rock N’ Wrestling cartoon. Captain Lou didn’t actually voice himself in this short-lived animated ridiculousness (neither did any of the other WWF wrestlers for that matter) but I absolutely LOVED this show. The idea that all of my favorite wrestlers were driving around in giant Cadillacs and monster trucks and having adventures and doing good deeds appealed to my… gullibility.

So, rest easy Captain Lou. I don’t know if you were a great man, or even a good one but you entertained me as a child and for that I am grateful.

Farewell, Captain Lou Albano
Wrestler, personality Captain Lou Albano dies at 76
Flashback: Albano and Lauper Engage in Father-Daughter Smackdown in “Piper’s Pit”
6-year-old boy floats away in homemade helium balloon (at this moment, the scary live video shows him flying through the Colorado skies; update: he wasn’t inside)
Top Ten Celebrity Balloon Boy Tweets
Balloon Boy Gets Fresh Prince Treatment on Facebook
Balloon Boy: “…We did this for the show.”

The Day After Next Independence Day

What are they going to call the sequel to Independence Day? ID4 2? ID5? Independence Day II: Never Wear White After Labor Day? Assuming it actually gets made I’m on board just as long as it makes exactly NO sense like the original did… didn’t.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES: I’ll be in Austin, TX signing HE Books at Rogue’s Gallery Comics on Saturday Oct. 24 from 1-3pm, and at the Ka-Baam!! Improv Comedy Show Friday 10/23 and Saturday 10/24. I will also have books for sale there. More info on these events HERE.

I am eyeing a few more TX appearances for November. Dallas on 10/14 and Lubbock on 10/7. Comment if you are interested in me actually doing those things.

I will also be at Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle, WA in March. More info on that as it gets closer.

BOOK NEWS: I’m back from Baltimore and the books are in my garage, which means they will begin shipping this week. Since I have so many sketches to do, shipping may be slow and steady but it will be consistent. When you get your book, how about you post a pic of you with it on Twitter [follow me? why not] with the hash tag #HEBook.

Oh, you haven’t preordered the book? Well the preorder is over and now its just the ORDER (minus the pre). All preorders will ship first, but new orders will ship fast, so get up on it and book yourself in the thing.

The Last Starfighter Initiative

Got to keep it short and sweet today because it’s my last day to prepare for Baltimore Comic-Con. If you’re going to be in the area, come see me at table 129 Saturday and Sunday. Just look for the giant ass HE banner. I’ll be on Twitter like crazy during the con so follow me to get up to the minute minutia.

Remember that the BOOKS ARE HERE and will begin shipping as soon as I get back from Baltimore. ORDER YOURS NOW and your wait time will be reasonably short.

So how was Stargate: Universe? Pretty good. I don’t want to go into the plot or do a full review (though a reader correctly pointed out that it’s “spaceship far from home” premise is reminiscent of Voyager), but it was quite serviceable sci-fi with decent acting, effects and which required no previous knowledge of the Stargate… well, universe. Basically just just have to take for granted that there are ancient Stargate wormhole portal devices and our military has been using them for some time for various reasons. The rest is new content and concepts. (Really, the original kick ass Stargate movie is enough to keep you up to speed on all the major concepts)

My recommendation is to check out the 2hr pilot, “Air.” If it makes your sci-fi-sense tingle, stick around. Even if you didn’t like previous Stargate series, you might find something new to enjoy with SG:U.